MacBook Air Review

The most recent launch of the new MacBook Air was much eagerly awaited by most Apple loyalists. After bringing out the Apple iPad and the MacBook Pro update, Apple computers has now upgraded its ultra portable notebook line, with the launch of the sleeker version in the very recent past.

Review

The first MacBook Air was launched by Apple Computers in January, 2008. Advertised as one of the thinnest laptop computers ever, it was the first laptop launched by the company in its new patented aluminum unibody enclosure. This product has been launched by Apple in two versions. You could either opt for the 11 inch version or the 13 inch one. Let us see what the MacBook Air have to offer, in its latest avatar.

Design & Vital Statistics
The 11 inch MacBook Air is one of the lightest and thinnest laptop computers, weighing only 2.3 pounds, with height ranging from 0.11 to 0.68 inch (0.3 to 1.7 cm) only! The 13 inch version weighs a tad more at 2.9 pounds with the same height. What makes it look sleeker and more solid than other laptop computers is the fact that its entire body is crafted from a continuous sheet of aluminum. The use of this metal is the secret behind the lightness or 'Airiness' of the MacBook Air. All consumer reviews, will go bonkers about its looks. After that review of the exterior, let us move over into the interior and have a look at its technical specifications.

Processor
While the 11 inch MacBook Air comes with an option of opting for a 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (3 MB L2 cache) or 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (3B L2 shared Cache), the 13 inch version comes with either a 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (6MB L2 cache) or a 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (6 MB L2 Cache). Why Apple opted for these old processors, instead of opting for the new Intel core i3, i5 or i7 line of processors, which are more energy efficient, is a mystery. With the price that they are quoting for the MacBook Air, one would have expected an upgrade in the processor. The reason might be the Nvidia graphics chipset, which is not compatible with the new i3 and i5 line in the setting.

Memory
The feature that has been advertised as the USP of MacBook Air, by Apple itself is its complete flash drive based storage memory. You could go for 64 GB, 128 GB or 256 GB of flash storage. Opting for the flash memory has freed all the space that a hard drive would have taken and lessened the weight substantially. There is no optical drive either making it identical to a netbook computer, than a notebook. You could opt for 2 to 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, which is sufficient for multitasking. If you make a MacBook vs MacBook comparison, the main difference is the shift to flash storage.

Display/Graphics/Video Ports/Audio
The display is LED backlit and widescreen which comes in 11.6 inch (with 1366 x 768 pixel native resolution) and 13.3 inch (with 1440 x 900 pixels native resolution) sizes. It is equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor, that comes with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM. It also comes equipped with a camera. Not much to gloss over here. These specs say that the MacBook Air should deliver excellent graphic performance.

Let us now consider the output and input ports of the machine. It comes with VGA output, dual link DVI output and HDMI output facility. It has an SD card slot, along with a USB 2.0 port, mini display port, Magsafe power adapter port and a headphone jack. The stereo speakers and Apple earphones, equipped with a remote mic, ensure that MacBook Air is not lacking in audio capability. Notice that I haven't mentioned an inbuilt ethernet port! That is because there is none! You have to buy an USB ethernet port separately.

Keyboard and Touch Pad/Software
Continuing with the MacBook review, let us have a look at other features including software. The keyboard and multi-touch keypad are very comfortable to use. There are 12 function keys which provide multiple functions. All this comes with an installed Mac OS X Snow Leopard and a reinstall drive.

Wireless Connectivity
Not surprisingly, MacBook Air is equipped with a wireless adapter (Airport Extreme) based on the 802.11n wireless networking standard. It also comes with a bluetooth 2.1 + EDR adapter which comes in handy when transferring files from your Apple iPhone.

Battery Life & Cost
Another USP, advertised highly, by Apple is its battery life, which is close to 7 hours with a 30 day standby time. It has higher battery life, compared to Macbook Pro. That is because it is certainly a lot longer than MacBook Pro battery life. Let us deal with the most important factor in this review, which is cost! The cost ranges from $999 for the 11 inch (64 GB), to 13 inch (256 GB) version that will cost you $1,599! The performance and graphic output of the machine is satisfactory but the price is way too high.

I hail Apple Computers and Steve Jobs for the innovation they bring through their products. They are all classy, but the only problem is the high price at which they launch the products. As I said before, the MacBook Air is way too overpriced, if you make a comparison of the price of its closest competitors. Other branded laptop computers, with matching specifications of the MacBook Air, are offered at a much lesser price. Still if you have the money, you can always go ahead and spoil yourself for the 'oomph' factor of this sleek notebook computer! You will have no reasons to complain. If you purely need functionality, the MacBook Air is not highly recommended because of the exorbitant price. For functionality and productivity, at an economical cost, go for a Dell instead.